Midnight Wanderings
by Not-So-Sirius-Black
Summary: Seeking some alone time after detention with Umbridge, Harry wanders up to the Astronomy Tower, only to find that someone else is already there.


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter! Only this short story line! :D**

The Christmas Holidays had just concluded and Harry had been having a wonderful time at Grimmuald Place with the Weasleys, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, and Sirius. It was one of the best Christmas' he'd had. So when he realized that the Holidays were over and that they all must return to reality, to Hogwarts, Harry couldn't help but feel disappointed. He especially didn't want to leave Sirius in that dreadful house by himself. But seeing as it was the only option in order to keep Sirius safe, he didn't complain. Harry had said goodbye to the elder Weasleys and the rest of the Order who had spent Christmas together, and had boarded the Hogwarts Express with his friends.

But that had been a month ago. It was nearing the end of January now and Umbridge was worse than ever. Harry couldn't seem to go two days without her giving him detention. It was hard not to provoke her when she said or did something awful or untruthful. He supposed she was doing it on purpose as of late. Even knowing that didn't help him stop firing right back at her.

And so Harry would find himself in Umbridge's office every night of the week every week. Everyday she would keep him longer and longer to write with that awful quill she had. What made it worse though, was that she had upgraded her quill with a few advanced and most likely dark spells. His hand now bled profusely every time he had to write that same sentence. Over and over again. He knew it would forever be engraved into his skin, and into his mind. 'I must not tell lies.' 'I must not tell lies.'

It was almost twelve o'clock on a cool Saturday evening when Harry last walked out of Umbridge's office. His hand was bleeding more terribly than it ever had before. However he didn't want to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room. He knew he should, for he knew that Hermione and Ron would be worried sick about him, but he needed some space. They would just antagonize him about going to the Hospital Wing, going to see Dumbledore, or to stop berating Umbridge. But they didn't understand. They never did.

Harry ripped off a piece of his red, black, and white plaid shirt and wrapped it around his still bleeding hand. After securing the cloth Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak that he had thankfully brought with him to detention. He threw it over himself and walked quietly but briskly through the castle. He didn't have a set destination, but he ended up walking the vast amount of stairs leading to the Astronomy Tower. As he reached the top, he felt the chilly breeze whip against his skin and sighed. He sat down in the on the hard stone floor and gazed up at the stars, trying to relax.

Harry had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't seen the other figure standing in the shadows. The figure walked slowly to the opposite of where Harry was sitting and sat down, ruffling his platinum hair.

Jerking his head around, Harry turned to face Draco Malfoy. He was about to speak when he noticed the bruising on the right side of Malfoy's face marring his pale complexion. The bruises almost completely covered his cheek and part of his lip. He also seemed to have a black eye. Silver and Green eyes seemed to bore into each other eternity before Malfoy looked away. Harry turned his head upwards and watched the stars twinkle in the night sky. It was silent for a time. Only the sound of wind running in between the castle. Then Harry heard Malfoy speak.

"What happened to your hand?"

He barely heard it. It was a whispered, and the wind seemed to carry it over to him. Harry was stunned. He wasn't quite sure what to do. Was Malfoy trying to have a decent conversation with him? It wasn't as if they had ever spoken like this before.

"I had detention," Harry said looking over at Malfoy who he found looking curiously at him, "with Umbridge." Harry didn't know why he told him, maybe it was the unusual softness in his voice, or maybe it was just because it was so late at night. He answered though; it was too late to take it back.

Again, so so soft that it took all of Harry's concentration to catch the words, Malfoy asked, "What could you possibly do in detention that causes you to tie up a bloody hand?" The words sounded somewhat like the Malfoy he was used to hearing, but they were missing the malice behind them.

"Blood quill," Harry said as quietly as Malfoy had before. Harry looked over at Malfoy as Malfoy looked at him and a flash of something crossed his face. Was it pity? Concern? Anger? Harry wasn't sure. Malfoy turned his head slowly back toward the night sky and closed his eyes. Breaking the short silence, Harry asked, "What about you?"

Harry was sure that Malfoy knew what he was talking about. He had been wondering what had happened to Malfoy's face from the moment he had seen the painful bruises. Had someone actually beaten him up? Harry thought that he probably deserved it. Though, if he thought about it, who would beat him like this? Especially if Malfoy had had his cronies with him. The question hung in the air for what seemed like hours to Harry. Harry was just about to ask something else when Malfoy answered.

"It was...my father," he paused for a moment and then continued, "He wanted to see me and requested that I come home with permission from Dumbledore. I had...disagreed with him."

Harry didn't want to think about what he had been told. He could relate to it so easily. Uncle Vernon wouldn't only yell at Harry anymore. Ever since Harry had turned thirteen, Uncle Vernon had decided that Harry was old enough to handle physical punishment. It could be worse though. It didn't happen often or very much, but it still frightened him.

"Ya know Potter," Malfoy said a little louder than before making Harry turn to look at him once more. "It's not pleasant on either side of this, is it?"

The War.

"No Malfoy," Harry said equally as loud, "it's not."

Malfoy nodded his head and resumed his earlier position. They both sat in silence for a few more hours. No talking, just sitting in each others company, lost in their own thoughts. Thoughts of the other side of this blasted war, and how things could have been so different if there wasn't one.

**A/N: Here is my first ever fanfic! So what do ya think? Good for a first try? Please leave a review! I would love to know how my first story came across! ;)**


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